Suits Recap – S9 E9: Thunder Away

In this penultimate episode of the series (we’re almost done, folks!), Harvey mourns his mother after her sudden death, and everyone gets in on the episode’s only story line: the plan to get Faye out of the firm.

At his mother’s funeral, Harvey makes a graveside speech about his childhood and baseball, aided by a flashback that shows a dark-haired child who looks nothing like Harvey ever did being a dick to his mom.

Regrets, Harvey has a few.

All the main cast members except Katrina show up for the funeral and reception, as does Mike, despite the awkward way he and Harvey last parted. They forgive each other, and the next thing you know, Mike and Sam have put their enmity aside and are cooking up a plan to rid the firm of Faye.

Mike comes over to Harvey’s the next morning, and proposes he represent Sam in an unlawful termination suit against Faye. Harvey likes the idea until Faye demands that he and Louis defend her. They refuse, but Faye promises that they don’t have to prove Sam fabricated evidence, and if they won’t help her, they’ll lose the firm. Bonus: if they win without colluding with Mike and Samantha or telling them about the deal, Faye will leave FOREVER. They reluctantly agree to rep her.

Harvey tells Donna, and Donna tells Alex. No one tells Mike and Sam, who are surprised to see Harvey & Louis in the judge’s chambers the next day. The judge moves to try the case in court after Harvey and Louis make mention of the firm’s bylaws in their defence of Faye, and Mike uses his photographic memory to contradict and correct them.

Harvey & Louis urge Sam to accept a $3 million settlement. Mike & Sam know something fishy is going on, but they don’t know what, so they make a counter offer, the receipt of which enrages Faye – she does a lot of rushing into rooms in one of her coats/long jackets and yelling at people this episode.

Harvey insists he prepare Faye for court via a mock trial, which is really an excuse to slag her in front of the whole firm as bitter and vindictive, and announce that everyone hates her. Fun for Faye – she storms out.

Alex discovers that this is the 2nd time she’s been sued for wrongful termination, info which Katrina passes to Mike and Samantha because no one told her about the secret deal.

On Day 2 of the trial, Sam speaks on her own behalf (is this allowed?), while wearing a fabulous Alexander McQueen blazer, about how she has great friends at the firm, and Faye is hated, plus she has a record of wrongfully terminating people.

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Afterwards, Faye yells at Harvey, and calls Louis a sheep for following him. Harvey defends Louis to Faye as someone he loves (!!), which makes Louis’s year. Harvey yells at Katrina for passing Mike the file, and Faye yells at Katrina for her mistake and fires her. No fun for Katrina.

Donna asks Mike to meet Harvey for a drink, despite the in-court tensions. They reminisce (= recap some of the series) and insult each other in the meant-to-be-affectionate way that I dislike. Harvey sneak-attacks Mike with a subpoena – he’s going to get him to testify in Faye’s defense. Mike is stung that Harvey won’t trust him to tell him whatever the fuck he’s up to and walks out.

Next week, in the series finale: Looks like Harvey trusts Mike after all, because they’re going to execute one last con together, presumably to vanquish Faye. And we get to go to Louis and Sheila’s wedding!

Kim Moritsugu is a Toronto novelist and sometime TV show recapper. Her latest novel The Showrunner, available from your favourite bookseller, is a darkly humourous, suspenseful Hollywood-noir about female ambition inside the TV biz that has been called a “sophisticated, compelling, and surprisingly complex drama,” and has been optioned for development as a TV series.

Check out its book trailer here:

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